Reality's Appeal
by RikaAltraz
Summary: A year of working together after things quieted down, Zarik gets a request to come home: his sister is in trouble. Angela has finally gotten used to living and dealing with Zarik, maybe not his flirting and joking entirely, and it's really hard to deny that he is very likeable, but she has gotten used to him. Set after the movie is over and is best read after watching the movie.
1. Authors Note

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been putting things up lately. Life has been hectic. I know, that's no excuse. I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm not by any means finished writing. I'll be working on some of my other stories here slower, but I wanted to get something out to you guys as a kind of apology and to let you know: "I'm not dead yet" despite my long absence.

This short thing I've done is probably not my best work, at least I don't think so after the ninth or so chapter, but that's because my program decided to wig out on me and lost about four hours of work. I was a bit upset over that as you can all imagine and just kind of went: "F it." So the ending is a bit meh compared to the rest and you can probably tell. But hey, at least I did finished it!

I've decidedly learned my lesson and will not be doing anything that I don't have a complete story planned out and set up. I'm fine with working on uncompleted series though I'm not a fan of my efforts when I do, but I've noticed I tend to work best with the series or movies or games that are complete. So for those who are waiting on my other incomplete stories, I'm sorry, but please bear with me.

Without further ado: please enjoy this small offering.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Zarik glanced over as he saw the town through the darkness.

It had been a whole year almost now. An entire year of getting her settled in, getting Deva off their backs, getting them both through an integration period he never imagined.

But worst of all, an entire year of staring and lusting. She had a sexy body now that she'd fully filled out. And she knew it. No way she couldn't when she purposely teased him with it.

Angela rearranged herself in the passenger seat, crossing her delicate ankles on the dash.

Hell knew how many times he'd told her in the first couple months to keep her boots off the dash of the motor-home.

Now, she made sure she kept her boots off and even went so far as to not wear socks when she did it. He clenched his hand on the steering wheel.

It wasn't that he minded her putting her feet up like that, because it really had been just her boots that bothered him. What he griped to himself about was that even her feet could seem cute to him.

He'd grown used to Deva agents coming down looking like supermodels of the old days. Angela was worse because she was his type.

Feisty, combat knowledgeable, handled a gun so well he wanted to see how she handled his.

And he wasn't talking about the rifle.

Still a bit on the short side and he loved it, kept that long blond hair though it was not in two tails anymore, and wore some unintentionally revealing clothes most times.

He pulled into the spot he normally used in this town.

Angela finally looked up when he cut the engine.

"Here finally?" She asked as she set aside her book.

It was dangerous to drive with the overhead light on like this because it cut his range of vision down, but he just couldn't deny her when she made such cute sounds over little things in the book she was reading.

He guessed it was a romance type book from the little bit he'd gotten to see of the back cover description.

"Yeah." He motioned for her to head for the back first.

Partly because he did still have manners, partly just because he liked looking at her ass. He'd gotten plenty stealthy enough over the past year. He knew she'd get in a huff and be mad at him if she caught him looking at her like that. But he couldn't help it. He did adhere to the strict policy of 'look but don't touch' at least.

He hadn't stooped that low just yet.

She didn't disappoint this time either. The way those jeans molded to her skin, he was surprised they weren't painted on.

Zarik reached to turn off the light as she headed for the side door.

He cut it out before she fully got there and he heard her stumble.

A year and she still hadn't memorized the layout?

"Dingo." She groaned. "Fuck you."

He snickered in the dark as he came up behind her.

"You can dream." He retorted. He definitely would.

It wasn't uncommon for her to cuss at him. She did it a lot actually. Saying that particular phrase was new.

She knew he was lewd sometimes; he even dared to say she'd gotten used to it. She generally tried to avoid situations where he could get away with being a lech.

He reached past her, putting his other hand on her hip, and undid the latch on the door before pulling the handle.

"Like I'd dream of that." Her voice changed as she caught her breath and he knew she lied.

She pushed out of the door and he followed, catching the back of her shirt when she would have gone face first into rough gravel.

"Come on Ang, one day I'm not going to be here to catch you." He said jokingly as she regained her footing.

In the dim moonlight, he saw her flinch and her shoulders drop.

"Don't say such stupid shit." Again her voice changed, sounding almost scared.

Of him not being there? Or of her actually hitting the ground?

Zarik stepped down and headed for the building he'd parked near.

"We need to report in." He said.

"Right." She sighed.

He led the way into the building.

xXx

Angela stared at Dingo as he read the letter the manager had handed him.

He took a ragged breath in and she stepped closer as he moved to a chair.

His pocket was bulged out from the payment they'd gotten and he shifted it when he sat.

She frowned as he looked over the letter again. When he balled the page up in his fist and then rubbed over his face with his other hand, she reached out.

"Dingo? What's wrong?"

He looked up at her and she swore he looked lost. In pain. Afraid.

No way. This man couldn't be afraid. He always seemed the opposite of afraid.

"Is it bad?" She asked.

"I...I'm sorry. Change of plans. I...need to go home." He stood up and moved away from her.

Angela let her hand fall to her side.

She glanced around the sand colored room to verify they hadn't left anything before hurrying after Dingo.

She hesitated as he approached the motor-home door. He had said 'he' needed to go, not 'we' as in both of them. Maybe this was something personal.

He pulled open the door and jumped up smoothly.

Her steps faltered as he vanished into the dark.

It brought those words back to her. Someday he wouldn't be around.

That hit her like a brick.

He was rude, obnoxious, obscene, and more than a little perverted, but he was all she knew here.

Even back before she'd lost everything, she hadn't exactly had much to call her own as it was. But Dingo felt like...hers. Her friend, her companion, maybe even...her family. Maybe their banter and camaraderie was what having a loved one was like.

Angela was so caught up in being afraid Dingo would leave that when the engine started she nearly fell to the ground.

She looked at the still open side door and realized he was waiting on her.

She rushed to the door and cleared the rise in one step before pulling the door closed behind her.

"I'm sorry to just change things up like this." He said. She looked to the cab as he turned the overhead light on.

She shook her head as she moved to her seat. "It's important isn't it? I'm just here for the ride."

He sighed. "Still, you could have stayed behind. Done a job by yourself."

She got the odd feeling he was relieved she was coming along. "And show you up while you can't defend yourself? The guys would never let you live it down if I did missions faster than you by myself."

He cracked a grin and she felt herself grinning back.

Almost thirty minutes now he'd looked distraught, ever since he'd been given that letter.

It just wasn't like him to seem so down.

"That sounds like a challenge to me." He said.

She scoffed. But at least he didn't seem as upset. He was almost back to the Dingo she knew and loved.

Angela paused as she stared out the window. He had already pulled out of town by the time she was settled into her seat.

Loved? She wouldn't go that far. Would she?

As irritating as he could be, and he'd done some horrid things over the year from the moment they met, he'd never outright tried to act on his worst harassment. He'd done that whole thing with the creepy crawlers the first time they'd met, using her to boost his income, but in fairness he had been testing her skill too. He could have handled it. How he took out her old co-workers attested to that.

Unlike her, he didn't need fancy tools or high tech gear. He had used an old laptop and some low grade antennas to find Frontier Setter. Hell, instead of using explosives, he had just tied metal cans to his buggy to piss off the bugs. His most advanced tool was his own ingenuity. And the rifle.

He'd been pissed when Angela stole it a couple months ago. But she'd wanted to show that she did appreciate him letting her stick around. So she stole it. And then dismantled one of the weapons she'd used defending Frontier Setter. She had very carefully dismantled his precious rifle and made a few modifications to it.

It had taken a lot of careful work and skill, but she'd added a laser to it. Now he could adjust the force and speed of his shots with every bullet. Or not even use a bullet at all. She had given him the ability to never run out of ammo with his favorite gun.

He'd been so mad at her when she handed it back to him that she had genuinely been afraid to give it back. And then he fired it. And was in love with it. She'd made it smoother and given it less recoil.

He'd even given her the pistol too to fix up the same way.

"You can head in back and sleep on my bed if you want. I'll be driving a few more hours tonight." He jolted her from her memories.

She turned to look at him. "I'm good."

"It's going to be a while Angela. Only one of us needs to be tired." He said.

She sighed. "I'm not tired." She was slightly, but she'd live.

He was quiet again.

Angela pulled her feet up onto her seat after slipping her boots off. Dingo hated her boots on the dash and gave her a dirty look if she brought them on the seat too.

"Dingo?"

"Hmm?"

"What's the matter?" She asked as she looked at him.

His hair was getting long and kept falling in his face. But he kept his scruff trimmed and she had to admit he looked good.

As men here went, Dingo was actually pretty handsome. In the year since she'd first met him, he'd gotten a scar on his right temple and a series of cut scars on his right arm. But even with the new scars, she still found him nice to look at.

Not that she'd tell him that. Not just out of the blue anyway.

"It's...my family." He sighed. "My baby sister...was kidnapped and raped. Apparently not the first in a string of it either. My brother sent me a letter telling me about it. My father intercepted it and added on begging me to come home and fix this problem."

She watched his hands tighten on the wheel. "I don't understand why they didn't contact their local guild earlier. She wasn't the first. And why didn't my brother take care of her? I know he's a lazy shit, but he should have been watching out for her. For all of them."

Angela reached over and touched his right arm. "We'll fix it Dingo."

He sighed and moved his right hand to hold hers. "I know. I just...I should have been aware of this already. It's not like I'm unreachable. I have a phone."

He let go of her hand and she turned to curl up and stare out the window.

xXx

Zarik glanced over as he drove. She'd been quiet for an hour now and didn't have her book in her hands.

He leaned just a bit and saw her face. Silly fool was asleep.

He reached to nudge her and she didn't respond. She was out good.

The engine stayed at the same volume as he eased to a stop. He got up and leaned over her.

He knew if he tried to pick her up, she'd wake up. Instead, he unwrapped his shawl and carefully draped it over her.

She shivered for a second before he watched her latch her hand on it and grip it tight.

His little warrior. She acted so big and tough, but he knew she was a softer woman.

In all the best places too.

He made sure she was tucked completely in before sitting back down and getting back on the road. If he drove all night, he could be in Oasis by morning.

He glanced at Angela again.

Damn she was cute all wrapped up in his shawl.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Angela woke up warmer than she had in a while when she heard a thump.

The hot air was blowing on her as she opened her eyes. The light hit her first and she realized dawn was coming.

Then she felt the knit under her fingers and glanced down. At some point Dingo had put his shawl on her.

It made her crack a slight smile. He could be so sweet sometimes.

She turned to look at him and frowned when she didn't see him.

The sound of ragged breathing from behind her had her moving to get up.

She stopped in fear as she saw Dingo on the floor.

He looked like he'd just dropped. Passed out.

He shivered and she stepped forward again.

She watched him open his eyes, but it was like he wasn't seeing anything. He looked unfocused as he tried to push himself up.

His rolled up left sleeve shifted and she saw the scrape on his outer forearm. "Dingo?"

She reached to help him up.

Then it clicked. They'd fought with some scorpion type things yesterday. She'd had her defensive gear on. Armored fabric designed to resist cutting and punctures. He wore his usual getup. Jeans, button up shirt, vest, and shawl.

At some point he must have gotten a scrape from the armored shell of one of the scorpions.

And if she remembered right, they were poisonous. Not deathly, but they caused fever, hallucinations, and nausea.

He was sick. And he'd tried to drive?

Fuck that, why hadn't he told her he got injured?

He stumbled and she tried to take his weight, guide him to his bed.

"Ang?" He slurred.

"I'm here you stupid idiot." She sighed. He eased onto his bed.

"Redundant." He closed his eyes again. How long had he been under the effects now? She frowned. "Why didn't you say something when you got injured?"

"Injured?" He frowned despite his eyes being closed.

"From our target." She supplied.

"Didn't." He tried to reach for the curtain above his bed to pull it closed.

"Then explain your arm." She knelt on the bed to reach it for him.

He looked at his uninjured arm. "Not."

"The other arm." She moved back and reached to pull his blanket over him.

He brought his left arm into focus. "Hmm." He mumbled.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She pulled the blanket back from his feet and started taking off his boots.

"Wasn't there." He said as he laid his arm back down.

She dropped his boots on the floor and reached for his arm.

Angela was careful to not touch the scrape as she angled his arm to see.

Under her left hand, his hand felt strong and warm.

She leaned closer as she realized it wasn't a deep scrape. It was a surface scrape. He probably wouldn't have even noticed it then. And the poison had sunk in and caused it to inflame. That was why it was visible now.

She set his arm back down and moved for the kitchen sink.

He shifted as she wet a towel.

"Don't move." She snapped.

"Yes ma'am." He mumbled as she came back with the damp towel.

He looked exhausted. Had he seriously tried fighting off the fever and continue driving? All night?

She wiped carefully with the towel, hoping to remove the residue and not spread it in.

The white towel came back with a tinge of yellow on the one side exposed from her folding and she threw it in the sink, afraid to get it on herself.

She moved to the tiny drawer filled with medical supplies and pulled out a sealed pack of gauze and some ointments and some bandaging.

One of which was a surface solution to the poison. They were common enough hazards out in the desert around the region Dingo worked in, so it made sense there was a treatment for it.

She found a disposable glove and carefully applied a thin coat of the ointment over the scrape.

Dingo hissed and tried to pull his arm away. "Fuck."

"I know it hurts." She grabbed his hand.

When he stopped moving, she let go and reached for the gauze.

She ripped it open with her teeth and he stared up at her as she laid it cleanly over the entire scrape. The thick gauze would keep the bandaging clean and protect the ointment and let it do its job.

"Hold this." She said.

He touched both ends of the strip of gauze and she admired for a second how large his hands were.

She'd known, but never appreciated it before.

Angela unwound a couple feet of the bandaging and started wrapping his arm from his wrist up. He moved his right hand as she went over the gauze carefully. He hissed in pain again and she felt bad.

As much as he annoyed her, they were partners and he should have told her sooner. Woken her up.

He was her friend. Only friend if she was honest. Frontier Setter could count too if it wasn't a million miles away.

"I'm sorry." She said as he hissed again when she went over the end of the scrape.

"It's okay." He said. "I'm stupid."

"You're not stupid Dingo. You're ridiculously smart. Sometimes you just seem to think you're invincible too." She finished wrapping and clipped the bandage in place.

"I'm not?" He cracked a grin as he laid his head back.

She put the back of her hand on his forehead. His fever didn't seem too bad. It was just affecting his balance. He'd be better after resting.

xXx

Zarik groaned as he woke up.

He felt a weight at his side and tilted his head enough to see Angela curled a bit next to him, her head by his waist.

He raised his left arm and saw the bandaging wrapped around it.

Nope, not a dream.

Angela had really helped him to bed after he'd pulled over.

He remembered pulling over because his vision was playing out on him. He'd thought he was just tired. Then when he tried to get up, his whole world tilted. He had hit the floor.

She must have woken up then and helped him off the floor and found the spot on his arm where he'd rubbed up against the shell of that scorpion.

He hadn't had any cuts, so he figured he was fine. Guess not.

He stared down at Angela.

How worried had she been? Obviously enough to treat him.

Zarik reached to thread his fingers through her hair. In her sleep, she leaned into his touch. He liked it.

She made a soft mumble before picking her head up and looking at him in a daze.

Her eyes cleared up quickly, but he'd liked the hazy look. He wanted to see if she'd look like that in pleasure, but he would wait for her to accept him. Until she cracked to his lewd comments, he couldn't know for certain if she was open to him. But he'd never stop trying.

"Dingo? You feeling better?"

"Thanks to you." He grinned.

She huffed and sat up on the edge of his bed.

Just how long had she watched over him until she fell asleep like that?

It was sweet.

He felt stiff and older than he was as he tried to sit up.

Angela moved to help him, but he waved her off.

"I'm alright."

She sighed. "If you say so."

Zarik eased to his feet and moved to stretch his limbs. He glanced at the clock on the stove.

He'd been out for a while now. At this rate, they wouldn't make it to Oasis until nightfall.

Damn, he had wanted to be there for lunch. It'd give him time to do a little bit of mingling back in with his family and making it look like he was just coming back for a vacation instead of work.

He turned for the cabinet holding his clothes and pulled out a clean set.

Before he even headed for the bathroom, he shed off his vest and shirt.

Angela must have removed his boots and gun holster at some point. And his wallet and the dingy guild coin he kept in his pocket all the time. It was a symbol of his membership. He could use it to stop at any guild and work.

He rolled his shoulders as he moved for the bathroom door.

xXx

Angela watched him make his way into the bathroom. He didn't seem dizzy or anything, but he did look pretty hot.

Not feverish, but just physically.

She shook her head as he closed the door behind him.

What was she thinking? The man was probably still sick and just acting tough. He did it all the time.

Well, not really. It was something she liked about Dingo. He wasn't afraid to call his limits. He outright told her to do anything she could that he couldn't. She had the gear to do hand-to-hand combat with things three times his size and at least four or five times their strength.

He'd given her that gear as a gift to keep her safe. It was made from the tech of one of the mechs she'd brought down with her. He'd created a bodysuit pretty much, but it gave her insane strength boost and speed to match.

In reality it was like being in one of those huge machines, but without all the weapons and systems.

She was her own AI.

She supposed it was pretty good for being outside of Deva's forces.

Every once in a while, he did some maintenance on it and it always surprised her how hands-on he could be.

He didn't have to get others to do work for him, he was just lazy. Dingo knew more about her suit than anyone. Even her.

She started cleaning up his clothes and then headed for the kitchen area after dropping the vest and shirt he'd slept in into the bag.

Angela made up some soup and toast as she heard him taking a shower.

She kept focus on making sure she didn't hear him falling or anything.

Not that she'd know what to do if he did.

That was one way she did not want to see him.

Who was she kidding? Yes she did.

Over a period of a year with him, she could admit to more than just thinking he was hot.

Dreaming of fucking him? Been there.

Her resistance to him was pretty much hair thin at this point.

One of these days she was going to cave to his perversion.

She was just holding out in the hopes that he actually meant it and wasn't just going to ruin their friendship.

But he hadn't shown any indication of being lewd towards other women, and they had come into contact with plenty that even she found attractive in an aesthetic sense. It did seem to be that he kept his comments and actions on her.

And yet Angela couldn't be sure if it was just the challenge that was appealing to him.

She was different, seemingly immune to him.

She was so caught up in her thoughts again that when the door opened and the steam poured out, she jolted.

"Soup?" He frowned as he stepped towards her.

"Well, I was hungry." She shrugged. "Figured...you might be too."

"Always." He sighed in appreciation as she held up his bowl.

She watched him take it and bring it up to his mouth.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Zarik was in heaven. Or as close as he could be after feeling so sick.

Angela had taken care of him last night or this morning, he wasn't sure which anymore. Treated his arm and cleaned up the wound and mess. Slept in a god-awful position to make sure he was fine. Then made him lunch.

She definitely had her moments of being nice.

And she hadn't burned the soup.

Simple tomato was always best after being sick.

It reminded him of how his mother would make it when he'd been a kid.

He held the bowl in one hand and put his other on her side to keep her still as he moved behind her.

She tensed slightly, but he was pretty sure it wasn't because she was afraid of him.

Zarik appreciated the feel of her smaller body so close to his in the tiny, cramped kitchen space.

He paused to change the bowl to his left hand before moving towards his bed.

She followed with another bowl and what seemed to be unburned toast.

He cracked a smile as she sat on the cabinet across from his bed.

"Feeling better?" She asked.

"Yeah. Everything is good." He said as he reached for a piece of toast from her plate.

"Good." She dipped her spoon in her soup and he watched her eat so neatly.

He dunked his toast in his soup and mopped it up.

She shook her head at him and he grinned.

They ate in silence until she finished her bowl and he stood up.

"Dingo..." She started.

He reached for her bowl and paused. "Hmm?"

"Don't ever do that again." She said quietly. "You ever get injured on a job again and don't tell me, and I will beat the shit out of you."

He huffed a laugh as he took her bowl to the sink. "As if you would hurt me."

He flinched as she reached over and hit his arm.

"I'm not kidding Zarik. You scared the shit out of me."

He looked at where her hand was gripping his sleeve where she had hit him.

His eyes moved to her face and she looked genuinely scared now. She looked him in the eyes for a second before staring at the floor.

"I just...I don't know what I'd do here if you were gone." She said.

"I'm sure you'd be alright. You're pretty resilient." He said.

She let go of his sleeve and he realized he'd said the wrong thing.

He turned to take hold of her hand.

"It's alright Angela, I won't leave you alone any time soon. And I promise if I know I'm injured, I'll make sure you're the first to know, alright?" He asked as he used his free hand to tilt her chin up to make her look at him.

Those eyes were just killer. Women should know how much the hurt and scared looks affected men. It just pulled at his core instincts to protect her when she made that face.

She sighed. "Good."

"You promise to do the same?" He asked.

She nodded as he pulled his hand away from her face.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Good."

He moved away from her to head for the cab. "Come on Ang, we've got a lot of time to catch up on."

He settled himself in his seat as she hurried to get to hers.

xXx

Angela was tired as she stared out the window as the sun was heading down.

She looked towards the direction they were headed and saw a bit of green.

She frowned as she focused in on it.

It was actual plant life. Wild plant life. That must be Oasis.

"Almost there." Dingo said from her left.

"That's Oasis?"

"Yep. Where my family lives." He nodded.

As they came closer she could see the buildings. They were old looking sandstone places, some a couple stories tall, but none exceptionally big other than a couple.

It was a small town, almost more of a rest stop than a real community.

There were a few people out and about as they came into the town itself.

Angela couldn't remember the last time she'd seen such color naturally.

It was more than just green, there were flowers of every known color and the walls of the buildings were done up in bright colors. The road was mosaic rocks flattened sides up in swirling and winding patterns.

If not for his somewhat colorful shawl, she'd never believe Dingo grew up around this wonderland of color.

He waved at a couple people as they passed the motor-home and she was just in awe of the range of visual stimulation as they came up to one of the few three story buildings.

It was a sprawling mess and she instantly loved it.

Just from the outside she could tell that it was of a really old style.

The thing appeared to be a square around a courtyard with a nice area for parking in the front.

The whole front side had a covered terrace instead of a real roof and the sides were the enclosed portion of the second floor. The back side that she could barely see appeared to go up to a third floor with a bit of a covered balcony overlooking the courtyard.

It was an exceptional design and Angela was almost thrown off by seeing the outer walls not painted compared to the rest of the town.

"Welcome to my family's home Angela." Dingo said as he stopped the motor-home.

"You lived here?" She motioned to the large building.

"When I was younger, yeah." He moved to get out of the motor-home as she saw a couple people coming out of the house. "Come on." He waved at her to move.

She started to follow him out of the motor-home.

He went to hug an older woman who had come out of the house and Angela paused just outside the door.

She wasn't sure she knew how to react to meeting his parents and siblings.

She'd never grown up with either. Sometimes it was hard to have been raised by a machine to be a part of an organization from the start.

Most of her human interaction skills had been learned from Dingo in the past year. And that was saying a lot considering they spent almost as much time on the road doing jobs as they did anywhere else. And when they were in town, it wasn't for much more than a night of sleep among people and a restocking of supplies and water and emptying tanks.

"Now who is this young lady?" The older woman asked and Angela looked up.

"Mother, this is my partner, Angela. We've been working together for about a year now."

"A partner?" The woman sounded surprised as she came towards Angela. "I thought you'd never get a partner. Too much hassle."

She sounded like she was quoting him saying something before.

"Well, Angela is different. We work pretty well together." Dingo said.

"If you say so." Angela was startled when Dingo's mother pulled her in for a hug. "Well now, come inside, get freshened up. We were just about to get dinner on the table when the dogs started barking."

Angela frowned as she was pulled along.

She glared at the grin on Dingo's face as his mother ushered her inside.

And then she found herself assaulted by a pack of wild animals once clear of the gated archway leading into the courtyard.

"Back, all of you." Dingo's mother snapped.

None of the furry creatures listened and Angela backed out of her loosening grip to get away from the jumping and pawing animals.

She was prevented from going far as his mother continued into the house proper, ignoring the animals that had ignored her.

Her back hit solid, warm muscle and Angela turned her head slightly to see that it was Dingo behind her.

He looked like he was laughing to himself.

"It's not funny! What are these things?"

"Well, dingos." He snickered.

He kept an arm around her shoulders as he guided her further into the room, the dogs all backing away from him respectfully.

As if he was the alpha and needed the room.

She watched him motion with his hand and a larger, bulky beast pushed his way past the smaller ones.

It came to brush its head against Dingo's hand.

"This is Howzer. He was my best buddy while I was a teenager. His father was the dingo for whom I use my code-name. I could never pronounce what my mother had called him, so I just called him Dingo."

The large dog had gray tinge to its fur and moved his head to brush Angela's hand and she pulled away.

"He won't bite. None of them should ever bite anyone. My father trains them well." Dingo said.

Angela slowly lowered her hand again and the dog let her touch the top of his head.

"Sorry they all came at you. Normally they're better behaved, but they haven't seen me in over a year." Dingo moved to kneel beside her and the dogs swarmed closer.

Angela yanked her hand back again when Howzer snarled at them all.

"It's okay Ang. He's just making sure they don't get too overwhelming." Dingo explained as he rubbed a few heads and backs before standing up.

He was almost standing up when Angela was surprised. Howzer put his paw on Dingo's leg and urged Dingo back down.

She watched the dog put his nose to Dingo's left forearm and sniff before taking in a breath from his mouth.

He growled.

"It's alright. Just a scratch." Dingo said.

Howzer growled again before licking Dingo's hand and then moving away.

"He could tell you were injured?" Angela frowned.

"He's a lot smarter than people think and he doesn't let it on." Dingo stood up again and motioned for her to walk with him. "We should probably clean up a little before eating." He said.

Angela nodded.

Dingo led her through a door into a hallway and she was surprised at the artwork that covered the walls. At least, as far as she could see.

His parents and siblings must have spent years collecting enough stuff to fill every room like this. It wasn't an overfilling, but there was stuff everywhere she looked.

She was a bit overwhelmed by it all after this year living in relative minimalistic nature.

Anything they didn't need, Dingo didn't get. She understood it after all the time she'd spent as data. She'd had to allocate and manage a far more sensitive construct. She could remember one guy shortly before she'd taken the Frontier Setter mission who'd said her image was high-res. She'd never thought about it until now, but maybe that had been her way of splurging. All her knowledge and data had been pretty condensed.

Dingo opened the door to a bathroom that was nearly the size of their living space.

"This place is so huge." She said as she stared at the room while washing her hands.

"I'd never thought about it until I started living on my own in that thing." He shrugged. "But I guess it does seem that way, doesn't it?"

"I mean, it's beautiful, but they just have so much stuff."

"My father makes all the furniture, by mother does the fabric for them. Before I'd left, my sister was learning from her. My brother is a lazy shit, but I think he was supposed to be the delivery driver."

Angela nodded as Dingo handed her a towel.

She hung it back up after drying her hands and started to follow him again.

As they walked past and through rooms, she was lost. But she took the time to look at the furniture as she passed and noted how nice it was.

His father had done such beautiful work by himself?

Why had Dingo decided to become a bounty hunter? He was good with his hands too.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Zarik finally found himself in the dining room as his mother was starting to bring plates from the kitchen.

His father was already sitting at the table and Zarik moved to hug him.

"It's good to see you again boy." His father said.

"Yeah." Zarik nodded. He motioned towards Angela to get her to come closer. "Father, this is my partner, Angela."

"Partner eh?" His father gave him a side look. "Kind of young looking, isn't she?" Zarik watched Angela look confused. "Wasn't aware I raised a cradle robber."

Zarik laughed as Angela looked flustered. "It's not like that Father. Besides, she's older than she looks. She was an Agent for Deva."

His father looked her over again and he watched Angela shift on her feet nervously. It was the first time he'd seen her do that in a very long time.

"I see." His father held out his hand to her and Angela hesitated before putting her left hand in his. Zarik gave her a reassuring smile when she looked at him as his father turned her hand over in his.

"A firearms user like yourself I guess. But hand-to-hand combat as well?"

"I...how did you know?" Angela frowned.

"The way your hands are tinted in certain locations. Finger joints of your index are slightly darker and your knuckles are a hint darker than the rest of your hands. It tells me you're capable that I'm not seeing scars or breaks. Zarik has a scar over his left knuckles where he broke his hand beating a kid up when he was younger. Stupid son didn't know how to hold his hand on follow-through and now he has to live with it." His father said.

Zarik was startled slightly when Angela reached for his hand.

"I never knew anyone could tell things like that." She said as she saw the lighter line that went over his middle two knuckles where he'd busted them on the kids glasses because he'd tried to pull away instead of pushing forward. Had he just pushed harder, it would have been a pinprick from the rim, instead it'd torn open his knuckles.

"Well, I guess it's not often taught anymore. But it's nice to know there is someone to look out for Zarik now." His father smiled at her and Angela relaxed.

His father had a way of making people at ease with him. Maybe it was his no-nonsense personality, maybe just his banter, but either way he was glad Angela was accepted.

"Well, lets get settled down for dinner you three." His mother said.

Zarik watched his younger brother saunter into the room as he was pulling the chair beside his father out for Angela.

It had been a year since he'd seen his brother, but nothing had changed.

He still wore the same gaudy shirts and jeans. His hair was still long and just shy of dingy.

Which reminded him, he needed a haircut himself. Angela had trimmed it up pretty nice last time, so he'd see if she could do it again tomorrow.

It was surprising how little his brother looked like him.

Leaner, more of an angled face. His brother reminded him of a rodent honestly.

His brother sat at the other end of the table and Zarik tensed as a woman followed into the room.

"Oh, Zarik is home, how come you didn't tell us?" She asked.

Angela frowned as his sister-in-law moved around the table and kissed his cheek.

It wasn't the friendly sort and he still pushed her away.

"Gloria." He kept the edge to his voice, but it never worked with her.

xXx

Angela heard the irritation in Dingo's voice.

Did this woman not understand he was annoyed? It definitely wasn't his sister.

"Sit down." Angela heard his mother say from the doorway as she carried another large plate in.

A timid younger woman followed behind her with a large pitcher.

Angela watched the other woman who had followed his brother into the room move around the table.

She knew the man had been his brother by the features they did share. Complexion, height, bone structure. The boy had a few of Dingo's fathers looks, but he looked shifty compared to Dingo and his father.

The younger woman following his mother must have been his younger sister. The one who was kidnapped and raped.

She still looked scared among her own family.

'Gloria' walked past his sister and Angela saw her nudge the girl ever so slightly.

Not enough to be noticeable by any but a trained hunter like herself or Dingo.

Angela watched as the girl fumbled her hold on the pitcher and it started to fall.

It was followed by a huge crash and his mother jumped away.

"Oh dear." Gloria sounded surprised.

Angela pushed up as the girl looked terrified.

Zarik was out of his seat and around the table before she was even up enough to think about moving that far.

Angela watched him reach out for his sister and pull her away from the mess.

"It's alright Mira." He said. "Accidents happen."

The girl looked ready to cry. His mother touched her cheek.

"We'll just get a new one. Let me get this mess cleaned up first."

Angela hurried around the table to follow his mother into the kitchen and was in awe.

While the rest of the house was colorful, this was a metallic heaven to her.

It was top of the line.

"Here." His mother shoved a couple hand towels into her hands. "That girl is going to drive me insane." She muttered.

"I'm sure your daughter didn't mean to drop it." Angela said with a bit of surety in her voice. She'd seen Gloria nudge Dingo's sister first.

"Not Mira my dear. Gloria." His mother patted her hand before leading her back towards the dining room.

Angela frowned as she understood that Dingo's mother had known it was Gloria's doing.

By the time they got back out, Dingo had gotten his sister seated beside his father and was picking up all the glass shards from the floor.

He took the towel from his mother and started to mop up as much as he could.

Angela dropped hers on the floor around and started to clean it up.

"Such good kids. Barely home for a minute and already back to helping." His mother sighed.

Angela glanced at Dingo from under the table edge. 'Gloria did it.' She mouthed at him.

'I know.' He looked angry.

He gathered the mostly wet towels up and Angela used the last dry one to get the floor as dry as she could and checked to see if there were any more glass shards.

"I'll take them." He said as he held out his hand for it. She nodded. "Back in a minute." He said to the room.

Angela moved to sit back where she had been.

"Well now, a most eventful way to introduce our family to you." His father said as she sat down.

"More than I've ever seen before." She smiled. He laughed.

"Well, you've met my wife, Suki. And myself, Raymond. This is our daughter Mira." He motioned to the girl now sitting next to him between himself and his wife as she was pulling a chair up.

Angela smiled at the girl and watched her look away at her lap. Honestly, this was more what she had expected to see of Dingo's siblings. A pretty girl with her fine features and delicate look that she could tell was from Dingo's mother. She had the same brown hair Dingo did, but it was longer and hid her for the most part.

His brother had gotten their mothers black hair and it looked almost oily unlike hers.

"My younger son, Lyle." Raymond waved to the other end of the table absently. "His wife, Gloria."

The other blond woman looked about like Angela would have expected an agent of Deva to look. Supermodel beautiful, ruthless, and uncaring of how she got her way.

Blond hair, but more of a rusty blond than her golden blond.

It just hit her how much Gloria looked like her honestly. Just older and more 'refined' compared to her young face.

Yet Dingo didn't seem to like her much.

"And of course you know my eldest." Raymond said. He looked at the rest of them before putting his hand on her shoulder. "And this is Zarik's partner Angela."

"Partner?" Gloria looked almost disgusted. "Never thought that man would find anyone who liked him."

Angela looked her in the eye. "And why wouldn't I like him? He's a great guy."

The woman huffed. "I'm just saying his preferences are a little rough."

xXx

Zarik stood in the hall outside the dining room listening as his father introduced everyone. He felt a bit stupid for not doing it himself, but it just didn't occur that Angela wouldn't figure it out quick.

She was smart.

Then he heard Gloria again.

Why did everyone have to assume they were that kind of partners? And what kind of man did she think he was? A monster?

He grinned slightly when he heard Angela defend him. It was good knowing she did like him.

"I'm just saying his preferences are a little rough." Gloria had the tone as if they'd been intimate before when he never had. Not with her. Ever.

He hated bitchy people.

He came around the corner.

"You wouldn't know what my preferences were, but I think Angela could handle just about anything I can come up with." He said as he moved back to his seat.

He caught the very slight blush that tinted Angela's cheeks, but it very well could have been annoyance too.

"Well, that's enough of that." His mother said as she started to get food dished out. "Let's just enjoy the fact that Zarik is home for a while." She looked at him. "You are staying for a bit, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I was going to be getting some maintenance done and maybe seeing about redoing the design of my home." He looked at his sister. "If Mira has any time to work on it anyway."

He watched his sister nod.

The table was quiet for the most part as everyone ate.

As plates were cleared up, Angela started to help his mother clean up.

"It's alright dear, I've got it handled." She said.

"It's no problem, you cooked after all. I'm used to cleaning up when Dingo cooks." She said.

He flinched as she said the name.

"Is that his hunter name?" His mother asked.

Angela frowned. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm just used to calling him that because it's what the agency gave me as his preferred working name and it just kind of stuck."

His mother actually laughed and Zarik kind of just wanted to sink into the floor.

"He really did like that darn mutt." His mother said.

"Well, it is easy to remember and I read up on the lore of it and it fits him for the most part." Angela said as she carried stuff into the kitchen.

He sighed.

"You know there is another meaning to that word." Gloria said. He arched a brow at her. "A man who likes older women."

Zarik gave her a nasty smile. "Well now, I guess that puts you far out of my range, doesn't it? Though I do believe Angela might actually be a couple months older than I am. Isn't that funny?"

Her look was so worth the shock on Angela's face.

And then he saw her trying to figure out if he was indeed younger than her.

He was pretty sure he was older than her even by her actual age.

He watched that knowledge cross her face and was slightly startled by the look of dejection at her realization. He'd find some way to let her know that he wasn't actually into older women and was leaning more towards her anyway.

He stood up as his father did.

"Well, lets get some of your stuff moved into your old room. I'm afraid you two are going to have to share since we'll be having people over tomorrow and the rest of the rooms are already booked." His father said.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Angela looked up at the news.

"I do hope that's okay with you two. We weren't really expecting Zarik to have a partner, otherwise we'd have left a room available for you dear." His mother said.

Angela shook her head. "It's okay. We share that tiny thing he calls a house. I think we'll be fine with one room."

It wasn't exactly a difficulty as long as he kept his hands to himself.

Though she wasn't sure if she'd fight if he did come on to her here.

She watched Dingo start to follow his father out of the room.

"Well, Mira and I will show you to his room and make sure everything is good for you." Suki said.

Angela nodded and started to follow his mother out of the room.

Mira stayed a step behind her mother.

She seemed maybe seventeen, old enough to know how the world works, but still, what happened never should have happened to her.

Dingo would probably kill whoever was behind it, knowing him.

He was protective to an extreme sometimes.

He'd lost his temper pretty bad one time when she had been injured during a mission and the guy who'd thrown her in defense had wound up with six broken ribs, a broken cheekbone, several gashes, and maybe even his right shoulder and arm broken. Or maybe that had been the other guy.

At any rate, Dingo had come unglued over her getting a couple scratches.

And right after the other incident, he'd worked on her suit.

He was pretty sweet when he wanted to be. But she'd seen a side of him she'd never forget.

"So...did Zarik get hurt?" Mira asked.

Angela frowned until his sister turned and tapped her temple. "Oh, um...yeah." His mother led them to a set of stairs and Angela started to follow them up.

"How did he get that one?"

"Well..." Angela started. How did she tell his family that he'd gotten it over her?

"He's always been protective Mira, you know that. He got it keeping Angela safe, didn't he?" His mother looked at her.

Angela nodded.

It was true enough. Just not the whole story.

They went up another flight of stairs and Angela frowned. "His room is on the third floor?"

"Yes." Suki said. "Ours is at the one end, Mira has her room towards the back side of the top floor, and Zarik had the other end. Before Mira was born, Lyle had her room, but we moved him down to the second floor when he misbehaved and we decided to change up rooms."

Angela didn't really get it, but she was grateful at least that Dingo had his own room and didn't have to have shared it with his brother.

"If you need anything, just come on down the hall." Suki said as she opened a door.

Angela was in awe at the sheer size of the room.

Dingo had this to himself? It was huge. There was a massive bed at the far wall between what looked like floor to ceiling windows. To the right of the entry door was another door leading out to the balcony that was actually along the hallway all the way.

"There is a bathroom through that door there, and a closet through the far one." Suki said as she moved towards the bed and checked the sheets. "I'm afraid we don't have another bed..."

"It's alright. We'll make do." Angela said.

It was a problem, but she really didn't want to tell that to his mother.

Because then she'd have to explain the problem and she really didn't want to have that conversation with his mother.

"Alright, let us know if you need anything, alright dear?"

Angela nodded.

She moved towards the center of the room, feeling the plush rugs under her boots.

She watched his sister and mother leave after his mother checked the bathroom out and moved to take her boots off and put them by the door.

Angela walked barefoot on the rugs and it felt so nice.

She could easily get used to this kind of place.

If not for likely having to share a bed with Dingo.

Who was she kidding, that was the best part.

Unless he didn't mean to be serious with her.

She didn't want that.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear it when Dingo and his father came into the room. She jolted when a hand touched her shoulder.

"You okay?" Dingo asked.

"Yeah, just thinking." She said.

"Don't worry about it. I'll sleep on the floor."

"But...it's your bed." She said as his father put down the two cases that she knew contained all their clothes.

"We'll get the rest tomorrow. I'm sure you've had a long day, so you two go ahead and get some rest." Raymond said.

Angela nodded and watched his father walk out of the room.

Dingo closed the door behind him. "Is it really going to bother you if I sleep on the floor?" He asked.

Angela sighed. "Maybe...a little." She bit her lip before looking at him. "Yes, alright. If either of us should be on the floor, it should be me. This is your room after all."

"And you think after all I've done, I'd let you sleep on the floor?" She was startled when he picked her up and before she could protest, he'd dumped her on the bed. "You get used to that, alright?"

She braced herself up on her elbows. "What part? The picking me up or the bed?"

xXx

Zarik looked down at her. Maybe she wasn't aware of how that position made her shirt ride up a little, showing off that flat belly of hers. He knew she was older than the eighteen that her body was, but he just didn't want her to think he was interested in her because of her young body.

He moved to lean over her. "Both." He gave her a mischievous grin.

He watched her blush slightly before he turned to the cabinet near the bed.

As he opened the door, he was surprised to see the bottles still there. Had Lyle not found them? His brother probably would have drunk his alcohol had he known it was there.

Angela turned a little as he pulled out the smaller bottle.

The cork was tight as he pulled it out.

"What's that?"

"A bit of liquor I was saving here for when I finally found a partner worth sticking around and even bringing back to my family." He said.

He moved to sit on the bed as he handed her both shotglasses.

"Am I?"

He laughed. "Yeah Angela, you are most definitely the best partner I've ever had." He poured a little of the liquid out before setting the bottle on the cabinet and taking one of the glasses from her. "Might be a bit strong, but here's to the past year."

"I hope we have plenty more." She said, looking somewhat serious.

"Me too." He tipped the glass back and it hit him like a punch to the gut.

He watched her gasp and put her hand over her chest.

"Damn, that's stronger than I thought." He said.

"Didn't you try it before you decided to keep it?" She asked.

"Not really." He huffed a laugh as he reached for the bottle again. "I knew I'd like it, I just wasn't expecting the flavor to be so strong."

"Did you shake it up first?" She snarked at him.

"Of course not, you don't shake this stuff." He poured himself another shot and was surprised when she held up her glass.

Neither of them drank much, so he decided to shove the cork back in after setting the bottle on the cabinet again.

He braced himself this time and it wasn't so bad.

She leaned over as she held out her glass. "I'm never drinking that again." She groaned.

"It's not that bad."

"It's good, just strong. Maybe water it down next time." She pushed back and he watched her lay back on the bed.

She looked good laid out on his bed.

He liked having a partner he could tease and torment without being chased off.

She closed her eyes and he watched her breathe.

Why did he have to get a partner he was attracted to?

xXx

Angela felt dizzy. Maybe too much in one sitting?

She'd never drank any alcohol before meeting Dingo. As an agent, she'd always been on duty. And she wasn't entirely sure it would have affected her anyway.

Now, she tried things here and there, normally as long as Dingo wasn't going to drink much.

He was by no means a lightweight when it came to drinking, but he rarely let himself overextend.

She opened her eyes to look at the ceiling, liking the way the setting sun looked on the sandy cream surface.

She felt the mattress under her shift and turned just enough to see Dingo lay over.

"Drunk?" She mumbled.

"No. But it was stronger than I anticipated." He said as he put his arm over his face.

She smiled. "I think I'll get a real bath before I go to bed. It's been so long."

"Just be careful." He sighed.

She huffed as she pushed herself up.

A bath probably wasn't the best idea, but she really wanted one.

Getting to her feet, she felt dizzy, but functional.

She moved to the cases Dingo and Raymond had brought up and opened one. Finding the large button-up shirt she'd stolen from Dingo so long ago, she pulled it and a clean pair of panties out before making her way towards the bathroom.

She stumbled on her way there.

"Ang?"

She looked up from where she was leaning on the wall to see Dingo sitting up.

"What?"

"You okay?" He sounded worried.

"Just fine." She said.

She went to the bathroom door, hearing him getting up.

Just as she pulled it open, her balance shifted and she started to fall backwards.

Suddenly, he was there, keeping her upright. He was always there.

Angela looked up at him.

"Sure you can manage? You're not drunk?" He teased.

"I'll be just fine." She said.

She pushed away from him and headed into the bathroom.

He followed. "Towels are here." He opened a closet type cabinet. "I'll get the water going for you."

She huffed as she moved to put her stuff on the counter.

A second later, she heard the tub starting to fill up.

She turned to look at him kneeling by the tub.

He was hot when he acted sweet.

"Really?"

She covered her mouth as she realized she'd said it out loud. "Ignore that. Alcohol talking."

"Alcohol doesn't make you say things. It just removes the filter." He grinned at her.

Angela glared at him. "Go away." She mumbled.

He shifted position to sit on the edge of the tub.

"But I'd rather hear all your dirty thoughts about me." He had that damn sexy smirk on his face.

Angela moved to push on his shoulder and it nearly pushed him off balance.

He was just as much affected as she was.

To keep his balance, he braced a hand on the other side of the tub behind him and when she nearly fell, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Zarik knew he wasn't drunk. This little never had such an affect on him.

What he was, was drugged.

It wasn't the first time. Last year had been the same.

He'd thought an unopened bottle in his cabinet was safe. Guess it was opened after all. But he could have sworn it was sealed. Yet it had come out pretty easy.

Gloria had spiked one of his bottles of beer when they were grilling outside last year. Why she insisted on trying to get at him confused him. She had Lyle.

Granted, he was much better than his brother and could fully admit it. Unlike his brother, he always had a steady job with hunting. He helped people. He made their world a safer place.

Not to mention he was the better looking brother. Sometimes he wondered if Lyle even was their parents child.

Angela braced her hands on his shoulders and tried to push away from him. He kept his hold on her.

"Dingo..." She started.

He shifted his hold to turn the water off as he saw it starting to get high enough. "Yeah Angela?" He mumbled.

She looked slightly out of it.

"Your touch is burning me." She closed her eyes.

And her touch set him on fire all the time. Even the most innocent ones.

He shifted his hand up her back until it was spread over the back of her neck.

"Good." He pulled her down a little until he could kiss her.

Her fingers tightened in his shirt.

She angled her own head to kiss him more forcefully, taking him a little by surprise. He liked it. She didn't fight when he teased her lips open and tangled his tongue with hers.

When she finally pulled away from him she looked a little lusty.

"Don't fuck with me Dingo." She said softly.

He let a slow grin come out as he shifted himself to sit up more. His left hand came to squeeze her rear before resting on the back of her thigh. "But I really want to Angela."

She blinked before looking down at his collar. "I don't want to lose you." She whispered.

It took him a second to figure out what she meant, but he did. "Never. I've been waiting a long time for you." He said as he edged his fingers under the hem of her shirt.

She let him start pulling it off her as she reached to undo the buttons of his vest.

"Promise?" She asked as she slid it off his shoulders and onto the floor behind her.

He nodded, unable to take his eyes off her.

When had she gotten lace things?

He liked them, most definitely, and wanted to see more on her.

And off her.

Zarik worked the button to her jeans as she undid the buttons on his shirt one-by-one. Slowly, tortuously.

She shifted on her feet as he eased the tight material over her hips.

They really were just about painted on.

And he loved it.

His hands covered the outside of her legs as he pushed her jeans down.

"Zarik."

He looked up at the sound of his actual name coming from her.

He'd gotten so used to being called Dingo that hearing his family say his name so much had thrown him off a little.

"Hmm?" He braced himself as she stepped out of her jeans and put her knees on the side of the tub at his hips.

He let her push his shirt off and drop it behind her.

"The water is going to get cold." She mumbled as she leaned into him.

"Fuck it." He reached up to undo the clip on her bra. He took it off as she kissed him. She pulled away as he hooked his thumbs in the lacy edge of her panties. "Don't make me rip these." He growled.

He watched her shiver, but she did step away from him.

When she was far enough back, he tugged down, but she grabbed his wrists.

She moved farther back and he reached for his own pants.

He stood up and quickly undid the belt holding his pants up and his holster on.

Zarik urged her back just a little when he reached past her to put his gun on the counter.

Angela hadn't taken that lacy thing off yet.

Instead, she reached for the button on his jeans.

He groaned as she undid it.

Part of him wondered if he wasn't passed out drunk and dreaming this all up.

As she slowly, carefully unzipped his jeans, he decided it couldn't possibly be a dream. He was more creative than this.

He started to push his jeans off and she knelt on the floor.

The position was extremely arousing, but she wasn't even focusing on the fact that he was hard.

She was undoing his boots.

God she was good. He'd have likely tripped himself up forgetting about them.

He shoved his jeans down and kicked his boots off as she looked up at him.

That long blond hair fell in a curtain around her and he reached down to bring her back up.

She shimmied out of her panties and he scooped her up.

The room blurred for a moment at his quick actions, but he turned for the tub and felt the hot water as he lowered them both into it. She reached behind her head as he moved and pulled her hair up into a knot bun. It was cute.

Angela shifted to straddle his lap as he stretched out.

Damn this was nice.

He could really go for a good soak with a sexy woman.

He felt her lean forward and then her tongue touched his collarbone.

"Zarik?" Her voice was soft.

"Hmm?"

"I'm...really sorry about these." She put her forehead against his right shoulder as her hand brushed over the myriad of scars on his arm.

"I'm not." He sighed.

He'd do it all over again as long as it meant she was safe.

That sicko had caught her before he could give her the suit and had already beaten her.

Zarik had gotten to her in time to set her free before something worse happened to her.

He'd been caught instead when the lock-down door had slammed shut, catching him in the head. That man had taken a razor to his right arm and leg, slowly trying to bleed him to death.

Angela had gotten back to their motor-home and found the suit he'd just finished up and used it to get him out.

He'd scarred, but she was safe and unmarked.

xXx

Angela traced her fingers over some of the razor scars on his arm.

It had been all her fault. He hadn't been there because she tried to go off on her own.

Then she got caught and he came to her rescue and ended up trading places with her.

She could have left him there, to die. But she just couldn't imagine a life here without the idiot. He'd made her such an amazing suit that allowed her to save him and they may have ended up killing the guy who'd tried to rape and kill her.

"I'd do it all over again you know." He said.

"I won't let anyone catch me like that again." She said.

He nodded before breathing in against her hair.

She ran her hands over his chest, feeling how strong this man really was.

He might look lean and weaker, but he was nothing but corded muscle under his clothes. He took himself very seriously for someone who was even more tech than she was.

Angela looked up at him and kissed him as she moved her hands down.

She felt him wrap his arms around her and pull her closer.

"Do you want me?" She asked.

"Always." He growled.

His touch was somehow hotter than the water they were in. Alcohol had never done this to her before, but maybe this was just stronger than usual.

She kind of liked it.

Especially knowing he wasn't just playing with her.

His hands gripped her hips as he rocked her against him.

He was hard as steel as she moved her hands to his shoulders.

Dingo rubbed against her and she gasped at the friction.

She thought water was supposed to reduce friction.

"God you feel good Angela." He rumbled.

She couldn't think straight as every press rubbed his cock over her clitoris.

It was too much to try and think on top of that.

"Zarik...please." She moaned.

"Sensitive much?" He ground out.

But he did stop.

For a second.

And then he lifted her up a little.

She reached between them to enclose him as much as possible in her hand.

He groaned as she positioned him.

But he wasn't lowering her down like she wanted. He was just holding her up in his strong hands.

She used her free hand to nudge him into letting her down.

The head of his cock pressed into her and she gasped.

He was bigger than she'd thought.

But now she could use her other hand to push on his shoulders.

She brought her knees off the bottom of the tub and the sudden shift of her weight had her going down.

It hurt slightly as he rammed into her.

Angela moaned at how full he made her feel.

"Ang..." He groaned.

"Do it Zarik." She nipped the side of his neck.

"Not here." He bit out.

She closed her eyes as she moved her hands to the sides of the tub. It felt cool under her fingers, unlike his skin.

She pushed herself up a bit. Only until she could feel him almost out of her. Then she went back down.

He tipped his head back.

"Fuck Angela."

She smiled to herself before repeating the motion.

It wasn't quite enough, but it got her point across.

When she went up a third time, he yanked her back down, flexing his hips to drive himself into her.

That. That was what she wanted.

She felt him grip her hips to push her back up before pulling her back down and thrusting into her. Her hands slipped from the side of the tub to his arms.

She loved feeling his muscles under her fingers. He groaned as she moved her hands up his arms to his shoulders.

She threaded her fingers into his thick brown hair to pull his head forward and looked him in the eyes as she could hear their breathing get choppy.

Her vision went cloudy as she could feel every muscle in her core tighten.

She pulled him down to kiss him and cried out as he made her orgasm.

He stole her breath as he drew out her pleasure by continuing to move them both, the friction inside her creating further sparks.

"I love you Angela." He growled as she felt him snap. He pushed her harder than ever onto him and she felt him fill her. She looked him in the eyes again.

"I love you." She whispered.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Zarik eased them apart after she spoke and reached behind his head to hit the water drain.

He kept his hold on her as he pulled out of her.

She loved him?

And all this time he'd been worried that she wouldn't cave to him eventually.

He grinned.

"What's that look for?" She asked as he reached into the cabinet behind the tub for a towel.

"Just happy." He said as he found one.

He winced slightly when the frame pressed on his bandaged arm.

How could he have forgotten something like that?

Then again, sex was a good reason to forget a lot of things.

He urged her up and wrapped her up in the towel before leaning to grab one of his own.

She started drying herself off, but he could see it was work for her.

He quickly ran the towel over himself to get the worst of the water off before taking over on her.

He liked having his hands on her.

Just being able to run the towel over her was making him hard again.

He thoroughly dried her and looked up as he knelt in front of her, her tiny hands braced on his shoulders.

"Angela?"

"Hmm?" She looked down at him.

He shook his head as he moved to pick her up.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her out towards the bed.

He held her in one arm, his good arm, as he yanked the blanket back.

He lowered her to the bed and she wouldn't let go of him.

His room was getting dark now that the sun was pretty much set.

He reached to turn on the lamp beside the bed.

In the glow, Angela looked pretty damn sexy.

She didn't resist when he climbed onto the bed above her.

Instead, she spread her thighs to allow him to settle between them.

The very feeling of her soft skin against his was intoxicating.

Most would have expected her to be harder, less fragile. But he knew better. Inside, she was gentle and fragile.

Cussing and extreme aggression aside.

He wasn't saying she was never close to brutal, because she had her moments. Especially during that fight about four months ago when they'd been going after a gang and his borrowed motorcycle had been blown into the canyon.

He was just fine of course, but she hadn't known at the time.

She went ballistic. He could hear her in the mic for almost two minutes cussing and raging as she'd used that powerful suit he'd made to dismantle the tank that had shot the explosion that knocked him down.

"Zarik?"

"Hmm?" He focused on her again now that he'd gotten some semblance of self control back.

"You spaced out?"

"No, sorry. Just thinking about how you go crazy over me." He grinned.

She frowned with a blush as he leaned down to kiss her. "Do not."

"Too." He moved to trace his tongue over her collarbone.

Her hands tangled in his hair as he continued on to her breast.

"When?" She gasped as he made a circle around her left breast, careful not to touch the tip.

"All." He made a tighter circle. "The." Closer this time. "Time." He took her nipple into his mouth.

Her left hand tightened against his scalp as her right fell away and he felt her grip the sheet beside his hand.

"Zarik." She moaned as he brought his left hand up to trace the same circles with his fingers on her right breast.

He scraped his tongue over the tip again, this time brushing his thumb over the other nipple simultaneously.

"Hmm?" He pinched ever so slightly and she made a strangled noise as her back arched.

He glanced up from his position to see her head pressed back into the pillow.

Zarik slowly brought his hand down over her side, tracing every little dip and random patterns along the way.

He moved his mouth lower and her hand fell from his hair as he kissed over her belly, slightly rounded from just being a woman. He loved it.

His hands moved as he did to put her thighs against his shoulders, keeping her spread to him.

He stared at the golden blond curls barely visible against her skin. They did nothing to hide the rose flesh protecting her very precious womanhood.

He was a man, he knew all about sex and had gotten plenty of it, and yet this felt new somehow.

xXx

Angela gasped for breath as he moved down her body.

It wasn't as if she wasn't aware of what he was doing. She'd taken the basic course as an agent on what sex was, though she'd never thought to feel it physically. She'd also made a couple raids while still in Deva of pornography rings.

The subject itself wasn't breaking laws and people could do it if they wanted. What broke the law was non-consensual recording and selling.

Dingo wasn't doing anything she hadn't seen before, she'd just never expected to feel it herself.

She tried to look down at him as he forced her to spread wider to him by using his broad shoulders.

His long hair was already falling in his face.

It brushed her skin and the contact made her shiver.

She cried out, managing to catch herself to not be loud, when he put his tongue against her clitoris.

His hands moved to her hips to keep her still as he stroked the sensitive nub and the opening to her private flesh with his tongue.

She tangled her fingers in the sheets, unable to reach him. He alternated motions and locations in a random pattern only he knew and she could feel herself coming undone again.

Was it even possible to do that multiple times?

If anyone could make her, it'd be Dingo.

When he thrust his tongue into her, she locked her ankles over his back to keep him from stopping, but he didn't show any signs of wanting to.

She could hear herself breathing harsher, but couldn't stop it.

He moved one hand to press his thumb over her nub and she lost it.

Her back arched off the bed and her eyes closed.

It was a good minute before she stopped feeling that sensitive.

Dingo eased back up her body, keeping her knees hooked with his elbows as he braced his arms at her sides.

The position kept her open to him.

"Angela." He growled her name and she looked up at him.

Damn he was sexy. Why did he have to look so rough and ready all the time? And hot in general.

It made it very hard to always deny him before.

"Baby, focus on me." He coaxed.

She tried.

The moment he was satisfied she was clearly looking him in the eye, his steel hard cock pressed into her, slowly.

She started to close her eyes to the pleasure.

"Ah, look at me." He said.

She forced herself to keep eye contact as she moved her hands to hold on to his shoulders.

It seemed to increase her sensitivity to have to focus on something other than what she was feeling physically.

He pushed fully into her, filling her deeper than in the tub.

She could see the strain on him as he moved at a slow, almost sedated pace. In and out, steady and solid.

"Faster Zarik." She moaned. She needed faster.

She wasn't sure she was going to orgasm again, but he needed it too.

Twice was more than enough for her. She'd be more than happy just with the endorphin pleasure now.

He groaned as he shifted himself to ram into her.

Angela ran her hands over his arms, feeling the sweat make his skin slick.

Every time she started to drift away from looking at his face, he slowed slightly, as a kind of punishment.

That was how she knew when he'd started to come undone. He finally closed his eyes and her name came out on a ragged breath.

She felt him fill her again, so much that she could feel it drip from her.

He leaned down over her, as if his arms couldn't keep holding him up.

Angela pulled him down and was just a hint startled at the feel of his whole weight on her.

She tried to get her own harsh breathing under control as he did.

When he could finally breathe without it coming out shaky, he pushed up a little to kiss her.

"I think you've killed me." He cracked a grin at her.

"Then I guess we're both dead." She sighed.

He laughed as he pulled out of her.

She watched him struggle to stand up and leaned up on her arms as he made his way to the bathroom.

"Zarik?"

"Second." He called back. She heard the water run for a few seconds before he came back into the bedroom.

Looking at him completely naked, even sated as he was, it made her realize how much she cared for him. He looked tired, but happier than she'd seen him in a long time. At least since she'd stolen his rifle. Or was it when he first saw her in her suit?

He came to the bed and she watched him hold up a washcloth as he knelt on the edge of the bed.

She shivered as he touched it to sensitive skin and wiped away most of the evidence.

He tossed it back through the open door to the bathroom and she watched him grin when it hit the tub.

"I'm still good."

She laughed. "You're a sniper. I'd hope so."

"Don't worry, I'd never hit you anyway." He leaned over her again.

She looked up and reached to brush her fingers over his jaw.

"You know...I honestly never liked beards." She said.

He laughed before kissing her. "Oh really? And on me?"

She pushed him to his back before settling against him.

"Still don't like them."

She felt him rumble a laugh under her cheek as she put her head on his shoulder.

He used his right arm to pull her tight against him and she put her leg over his.

Angela was pretty okay with him not having but a little dusting of chest hair and the patch down south too.

He had just enough hair to seem like a man, yet not so much that it made her uncomfortable.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to change it up, won't I?" He said.

"You do what you want. I'm not going to make you change." She closed her eyes.

He was quiet long enough that she almost started to fall asleep.

"But you being happy means a lot to me too." He said before he kissed the top of her head.

Angela sighed as Dingo pulled the blanket to cover them both finally.

She spread her hand out over his heart.

"As long as it's what you want too." She mumbled.

He sighed as she started to drift off.

She'd never felt so warm in her life.

She could really get used to this feeling.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Zarik woke up as early as ever.

This time with a headache.

He opened his eyes as he felt a weight on his right arm.

At some point, Angela had put her back to him and he had turned onto his side to hold her close again.

It felt amazing to have someone to hold like this.

Did she remember last night?

He could. He also remembered that their liquor was drugged.

Should he tell her that?

But he really didn't want to ruin what they had done last night.

He loved it. And her.

If Gloria's drug induced shots were what had finally gotten Angela over whatever reservation she had against him, he'd take it.

He was never letting her go anyway.

Hell, he might even thank his bitchy sister-in-law.

Her plan had backfired on her because she'd assumed he'd be alone like every other time he came home.

Yeah, he'd keep it to himself. If she found out on her own, he'd feign surprise.

He turned to his back and sighed before trying to pull his arm free of Angela.

She made the most adorable mumbles before opening her eyes and glaring at him.

"Morning." He grinned.

"Fuck you." She pulled the blanket over her face.

"Maybe later." He teased.

He slid to the side of the bed and stood up.

It wasn't a full blown hangover by any means, but the drugs did cause a bit of a headache.

Was it worse for her?

He started for the case he'd brought up last night and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. He also grabbed the smaller case tucked into his of bathroom things. Really just a toothbrush, cologne, and his shaving kit. He knew hers had just as little

He headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day and put his stuff on the counter.

Before he did anything else, he collected up the laundry and dumped it into the hamper by the end of the tub.

He took a quick shower before putting his clean clothes on and then looked at his reflection in the mirror.

She didn't like beards?

And yet she'd never complained about his.

Then again, Angela wouldn't. 'What did it have to do with her' is probably what she'd say.

Well, it did have to do with her.

He didn't want her to avoid kissing him because of it.

He stared for a moment, putting his hand over his jaw to try and see how far he wanted to trim it down to.

Zarik knew if he took it all off, he'd look at least five years younger. Would that throw her off more?

He sighed.

Part of him wanted to take her at her word of letting him do what he wanted, but another part of him wanted her to like his looks. And if she didn't like his beard...he'd get rid of it.

He needed to trim anyway.

He squeezed a tiny bit of the gel from his kit out and used the water from the tap to turn it into a foam.

After rinsing his hands off, he held the razor in his hand.

Was he really doing this?

He looked at himself again.

Yeah. He was.

Taking off his beard was both terrifying and a bit relieving as he worked.

He left himself a patch at his chin, mainly just taking off the sideburns.

He wasn't ready to give it all the way up.

Zarik leaned over the sink to wash away the rest of the foam before pulling out the scissors and trimming up the goatee he'd left himself with.

Now he just needed to get someone to trim his hair for him and he'd be good.

He pulled open the bathroom door after cleaning up his stuff in the bathroom and looked over to his bed.

It was still early. She'd likely be in bed another hour or even two.

Normally he went for a run before she woke up in the morning.

He shook his head to himself as he quietly headed out of his room.

He checked his watch.

Seven wasn't too early for anything.

He could hear movement downstairs as he headed down towards the kitchen.

When he pushed the kitchen door open, he smiled as he saw his mother already cooking bread for breakfast.

"Good morning Zarik. Angela not up yet?"

"No. She sleeps in normally. I tend to get up a bit early and run before she's ever awake." He said as he sifted through the fruit basket to pull out an orange.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt arms wrap around him.

He heard childlike giggling and turned enough to see his baby sister.

"Think it's funny to sneak up on your brother like that?" He ruffled her hair.

She huffed and glared at him, so like Angela that he laughed.

"I missed you." She said.

"Me too Mira." He moved to lean against the counter and watched her pick something out of the basket as well. He could see the dark circles under her eyes. The way her skin was pale.

Nothing was as he remembered with her.

He knew his sister was turning into a woman, but he never wanted it to be like that.

"Mira...you know why I'm back right?"

She jumped at his words before looking scared.

He held out his hand to her after putting another slice of orange in his mouth.

She was timid, but came to him.

"You know what happened."

"I do. Father told me in their letter to me." He said as she fidgeted with the apple she'd pulled out. He held her close. "I will hunt that bastard down and make him pay. And then I'll let the authorities handle their end. If they don't do things to my satisfaction, then I'll handle it my way."

"Don't you go getting in trouble with the law boy." His mother pointed a spoon at him.

"I'm not. Even I'm not above the law. I'm just a hunter. But you know...things happen out in the desert." His mother saw the cold look in his eyes, and he saw the same look in hers.

She wasn't disagreeing with him, she just didn't want to lose her kids.

But there wasn't anything the law could do if they couldn't prove anything.

After all, he was a sniper. He didn't have to be anywhere close to the man to kill him.

And he had plenty of experience.

He looked down at his sister. "You still know how to cut hair?" He asked her.

She frowned as she looked up at him. "You need it?"

"Dearly." He sighed. "Don't tell her, but Angela isn't as good at it as you are." He tried to sound conspiratorial and his sister giggled.

"Alright." She said.

He nodded. "Go get your stuff then. Meet you in the courtyard." He let her go and watched her hurry off, biting into her apple on the way.

He looked at his mother again. "I won't let this sick asshole keep at it. Angela and I have a bit of experience in hunting these kinds of people. Her childlike looks pay off sometimes."

"Don't let her put herself in danger for us."

Zarik waved it off. "She'd volunteer. Besides, she's got me for backup. And she is a seasoned hand-to-hand combat veteran. She can handle herself."

His mother nodded. "Still..."

"It'll be okay." He moved to hug her. "Now, Mira will be back out there before I will."

xXx

Angela finally poked her head out from under the covers a bit after Dingo had left the room.

How could she have done that last night?

With him?

She felt so stupid. Alcohol was never a good way to start anything.

But it had felt so good. Finally getting to feel all that muscle under her fingers. Knowing what that body looked like under the jeans and button-up shirts.

She'd known Dingo would be sexy, but that was just too much.

And he was gentle. Sweet.

Her body ached in a good way when she pushed herself to get up.

No, sleeping with Dingo wasn't the bad idea. Sex due to alcohol was.

She headed to her case to pull out a clean pair of jeans with embroidered vines and roses on the thighs and a dark green shirt with a few roses stitched on the right side of her stomach.

She picked out a set of red silk undergarments and headed for the bathroom.

After a quick shower, she got dressed and tried to wring out as much water from her hair as possible.

She started to put her hair in a braid after tying a long ribbon around the beginning and tied it off at the end with the tail of her ribbon.

It was one of those girly things she liked to do without being too inconvenient.

She pulled her boots on and headed downstairs following the smell of bread baking.

She still couldn't believe the amount of color around the house as she walked.

Angela heard laughter from the kitchen as she turned the corner into the dining room.

She caught sight of Dingo and was startled when he turned to face her.

His hair was trimmed back again, not nearly as long as when she'd first met him and trimmed it that second month they'd been working together. It looked good.

But the biggest change was that he'd shaved off his beard.

Well, most of it.

He'd kept a bit of a chin beard, but on him it looked really good.

She could actually like that.

"Morning." He said.

"Morning." She was a bit slow to respond.

"Better?" He asked.

She frowned until she realized he was talking about his beard removal. "If that's what you want." She shrugged. Couldn't she for once just tell him that she liked things?

She thought it was even more sexy this way than having his whole jaw covered in scruff.

"Good." He grinned.

His lack of facial hair made him look a couple years younger than he was, but she didn't mind.

Now she didn't feel so much like a kid with an older man.

She was trying to look more mature, but if he stayed with that then he'd look more her age.

Dingo turned back to the kitchen and she watched him come back to the dining room with a large plate this time.

Angela heard a door close as she watched Dingo put the plate on the table and he motioned her to sit.

"We'll be eating shortly, so give me a minute." He said.

She nodded and watched his mother come help him finish setting things out.

Angela looked up as Mira came back into the dining room this time, with her father in tow.

"Ah, just in time. I finished up measurements for Mira to get a real working blueprint on." Raymond said.

Dingo nodded as he took a seat beside his father.

"I can get that quickly." Mira said as she sat on the other side of Raymond.

Suki sat beside her daughter and Angela frowned as she realized they were getting started without his brother.

"Your brother and his wife aren't coming?"

"They actually live next door now."


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Zarik watched Angela help put things away again.

She had fallen into suit here really easily.

He appreciated that. She fit in with the rest of his family pretty well.

Well, most of it.

At any rate, they actually had a job to do here.

He waited for her to get done before getting up from where he'd been working on a design with Mira.

He was fairly satisfied in the new look that his little house on wheels would get.

It was about time to change things up and he needed to talk to Angela about it.

He moved to where she was coming out of the kitchen and intercepted her.

"So, want to wander the town with me? I can show you all the good places."

Angela looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Go on dear, it's your vacation from hunting bad people." His mother said as she urged them both towards the other door.

Zarik grinned at his mother. "See Ang, she won't let you help until you get back."

"Fine." Angela huffed.

He ruffled her hair, sliding his hand down the braid.

She blushed slightly as she yanked it out of his hand.

"Come on then." She pushed past him and he looked at his mother again.

She looked happy and it made him feel better about starting the relationship he wanted with Angela.

His mother approved of her and that honestly mattered to him.

If his family hadn't...then he supposed he'd have left for good this time.

He hurried to catch up with Angela, slightly startled by the feeling.

He'd have left permanently for her. And he loved his family. Even his brother.

As they got to the front door, Angela looked up at him.

"So where first?" She asked as they went out to the courtyard and got surrounded by the dingos.

Zarik motioned with his hand for the dingos and Howzer got up from the pillow by the fountain.

She frowned as she watched the aging beast come towards them as the others headed off away from them.

"Well, first off, the bluff overlooking the oasis itself. I think you should see it in the morning light. I used to love it."

"How far is it?" She sighed.

He closed the gate behind them as they headed to the driveway.

"Not very far at all. Maybe a quarter of a mile? Ten minute walk, I promise." Zarik said.

"And we need the dog-"

"Dingo."

She frowned at him as they walked along the road away from the house. "We need your dingo for a reason?"

"He needs the exercise." Zarik shrugged. "Plus he'll be able to help us investigate."

Angela nodded.

He reached down and took her hand.

"I know we're here for work, but I want you to enjoy it here too." He said.

"Dingo..." Angela sighed.

"I don't want to play with your heart Ang. I really do love you."

"Zarik." She huffed. He looked down at her. "I...last night..."

He let go of her hand and looked away. "Sorry."

She yanked on his arm and he winced as she grabbed over the bandaging. "Don't apologize." She snapped at him before letting go of his arm and taking hold of his hand. "I don't think we should have ever started this up drinking, but hangovers aside, I don't regret starting this."

He looked down at her when she pulled him to a stop.

She reached up with her left hand while her right kept hold of his left.

He felt her grip the front of his vest and she tried to pull him down.

She easily had the strength to do it by force, but he went willingly to her.

"Do you?" She asked as he leaned in.

He smiled. "Never." He used his right hand to pull her closer to kiss her.

xXx

Angela was relieved to know Dingo was serious.

And to know that he had some real experience in kissing.

He didn't feel like he was forcing her, but at the same time, she had no real desire to break away from him either.

She completely forgot where they were until he pulled back. She looked down at the road. "We should probably keep walking."

"I suppose." He smiled.

In all honesty, she liked him looking happy. Seeing him angry or sad was never all that great.

Of course, seeing him angry over her was a bit nice in a different kind of way.

She should have known he would always take her seriously when he was willing to sit through torture rather than see her hurt.

He kept hold of her hand as they continued to walk in silence.

As they started up a slight hill, she stared out at the oasis.

"This is pretty nice." She sighed.

"Yeah? I used to come up here every day as a kid." He said. "We're almost to the top."

"Good." She leaned into him slightly. "Thanks Zarik."

"For?"

"Taking me on. You didn't have to, nor did you and Frontier have to save me, but you did."

"Just because you weren't an agent anymore doesn't mean we didn't get along pretty good as a team. It's hard for someone like me to find anyone who works with my style." He shrugged. "And besides, I liked you even then."

Angela sighed as they finally came up to the flat area at the top of the hill overlooking the oasis itself. "Me too Zarik."

He hurried her over towards the edge of the outlook.

"So, what do you think?"

She just stared out over the water for a moment, seeing all the green and blue and various other colors in the small flowers and the pain on the houses to the left. His parents house was about the only one not painted and she could see the back side of the house.

It was beautiful.

"Honestly? I'm surprised you ever left this place." She said.

"I knew I'd never get the training I needed here though. Oasis didn't have much in the way of tech back then. I've been slowly sending more tech back here over the past years to help them improve. Now I'm finally in a position where I can do some real good in the area. It's a target because of the water supply here and the natural beauty of it, but the local hunters have been keeping on top of it for the most part."

"Except with this incident." Angela sighed.

"They may not have known about it until now. Down here, a victim doesn't often have anonymity to report crimes like rape. Which makes it easy for targeting people. And those like Mira...are few and far between. Not everyone has someone like my father to go to, someone who will take a stand. Even fewer have a brother who is a professional hunter. One who is willing to get his hands dirty doing what's right."

"We will." Angela said. "I promised to help you and I won't run away."

"I just don't want you in danger either."

"I know. I won't be taken by surprise again. Besides, I have the armor now. All I have to do it press the button on the bracelet right?"

He nodded. "True enough. And you are good against most in combat. Unlike me."

"Don't sell yourself short Zarik. You're good too. Just better from a distance."

He grinned for a second before tugging her to sit on the edge of the bluff with him.

"Angela...what do you think of being stationed out of Oasis?"

She frowned. "As in...moving here?"

"Yeah. My family will put us up until we get a place of our own, or they'll let us stay there in the house forever, whichever you choose. I just...I think it's about time I settle down in one location now." He said. "But I don't want to lock you down with me if you don't want to stay."

"Zarik, I've never cared where we were, just that...you don't leave me behind." She leaned into him and he held her close. "You're the only person who knows about who I was. And I like being here with you. I had my chances to leave and I didn't. Partly because you're all I know and partly because without being your partner I don't have much to do."

"That's my point Ang. Everything we've done, we've been together. I want you to be able to explore if you want."

"I can. I'm sure if I'm bored in a year, I can find something to entertain myself for a while." She said. "But I'll be fine as long as we're still working."

"Good." He sighed.

xXx

Zarik led her around the small town, greeting some of the people he used to know.

Covertly, Howzer was sniffing around for the scent of his little sister in distress.

Hopefully the scent wasn't too old for the old tracker to find.

It was nearing dusk when he finally caught something.

They started to follow the old dingo out towards the far side of the oasis, where the sands could get dangerous.

"Careful of your footing." Zarik told her as he kept a hold on her hand. Loose enough that they could easily separate, tight enough that he could catch her.

"Why is he going out this way?"

"Not sure yet. He's supposed to be finding Mira's scent out here. She knows better than to come out this side of the oasis, so it must be related." He explained softly, trying to be careful of anything that might be able to hear him.

"Ah. It's a beautiful area, if it weren't so dangerous." Angela looked out over the sand to her left and the water to her right. "What makes this area of the oasis so dangerous?"

"The wildlife mainly. Wild dingos are aggressive over territory. Howzer is a familiar scent around here though, so they should leave us alone. He might be getting old, but he's still an alpha." Zarik said.

Howzer made a huffing growl before he picked up his ears and lowered his tail.

Zarik knew that posture.

He'd caught live scents.

He carefully pulled out his pistol and the knife tucked in the holster at his hip and handed Angela the knife.

"What did he find?" She whispered.

"Something alive."

He crept along the underbrush with his faithful and well trained dingo, Angela at his back, exactly where he'd prefer her most times.

It wasn't that he didn't trust her skills, he knew she could kick ass better than anyone else he knew. He just wanted her safe.

He didn't think it was possible that they'd solved the case so quickly, but then again Howzer was specifically looking for Mira's scent.

Most Hunters didn't have a pack of trained dingos as a resource for tracking things.

If he and Angela decided to really stay here as a home base and work out of the area here, then he'd be able to spend more time actually training his pack for real hunting. It was a good idea anyway.

He stayed low as he followed Howzer.

As they came to the heavily bushy area that normally housed wild dingos if he remembered correctly.

Zarik caught the scent of decay and looked around where they were.

That was when he saw the mostly rotten and scavenged corpse of a wild dingo.

Most likely an older one who had just died off. Or so he thought until he saw two more.

He started to follow Howzer into the thick bushes and Angela followed, gripping the knife tightly in her right hand.

Zarik motioned for her to stay silent, even though he knew she knew better.

Coming through the thick bushes, he started hearing voices. At least one clearly male, the other faint one sounded female, but not in distress.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Angela could finally start to hear voices. Neither was familiar, but that didn't surprise her considering this was a new place to her.

She took a careful peek past Zarik, through the bushes and saw light. Dim light, but it had a source.

Howzer edged into the thinner scrubs ahead and Zarik gave her the motion of slow down.

She followed, holding the knife in her right hand tight enough to not lose her grip, but lose enough to be flexible.

Had they already found the person responsible for raping his little sister?

She kind of hoped so. It was horrifying to think that someone like that was out here free.

All three of them were quiet as they crept towards the light, keeping to the shadows as much as possible.

Angela was finally close enough to see a bit of the people.

Two were standing up and it looked like a third was on the ground.

From her angle, she could tell the third wasn't moving.

"Dammit." Zarik hissed.

She followed where he was looking, slightly edging him out of the way to get his view.

She clenched her fist as she saw familiar blond hair.

The voice hadn't sounded familiar because of the mask over her face, but Angela could recognize a body just about anywhere.

The woman, and not the one on the ground, was Gloria.

"She in on this?" Angela asked him almost silently.

"I'm not sure. Three, we take them by surprise, okay? You get Gloria."

She nodded.

He caught Howzers attention with a brush of his hand on the ground and she watched him make a soothing motion towards the dingo before clenching his hand tight.

The dingo shifted himself to launch, but Angela was surprised when he didn't immediately.

Instead, the old beast waited, primed.

Zarik held his hand where she could see it and held up three fingers.

She heard the very faint sound of him switching his gun from bullets to the energy charges.

By the tone, it sounded non-lethal. Painful, but non-lethal.

"Hear that?" The man asked. He wasn't Zarik's brother, that Angela could tell.

"Probably one of those stupid dogs coming back." Gloria waved it off.

Zarik started counting off and Angela prepared to move.

As the two in the light moved, Gloria towards them, the man to the woman on the ground, he closed his fist, completely skipping the second count.

Angela didn't mind as she pushed forward behind him, Howzer leaping out first.

She watched his dingo slam into the man bending over the other woman as she rushed into Gloria's space.

The other woman came up short as Angela deftly swept her legs out from under her and took her to the ground.

Zarik prevented the man from fully pulling his gun out on Howzer by coming to stand with his boot on the man's hand and his own gun at his head.

"Don't move." Zarik growled.

Angela held Gloria's hands behind her back, knife at her throat.

"Zarik!" Gloria cried out. "Get her off me."

"You two are under arrest for several counts of rape and accessory." Zarik said to her, his voice was cold. As if he knew both of them.

"But, I didn't do anything." Gloria wailed.

Angela watched Zarik motion to his dingo and the beast ran off, quick and stealthy, back into the bushes.

"I can't believe it was you two all this time." Zarik sighed.

"And why not?" The man glared up at him. "Not like all of us can be pretty boys like you and Lyle."

Angela took in his features. He honestly wasn't as good looking as Zarik, but then, to her few were. But he wasn't horrible looking either. Not from her angle anyway.

He wasn't quite as built as Zarik or even Lyle, but he wasn't too overweight either.

He was just rather ordinary.

Like, boy-next-door ordinary. The kind of ordinary most men were.

"That's no excuse James." Zarik snapped. "Do you even know what you did to Mira? To my baby sister?"

"I twasn't me, but if she did get it, she asked for it." James snapped back.

"How?" Zarik kicked his gun away from the man before kicking him to his back. "She's just a kid."

"She always acts so damn innocent, but then she spends all the damn time with that stupid little shit that it's no secret what they're doing."

Zarik frowned and Angela watched them, keeping her grip of Gloria tight.

"Little shit?" Zarik sounded confused.

"You think I'd have been stupid enough to come after your sister. Fuck Zarik, I'm not that hellbent on getting myself killed. Everyone knows you're protective, like a god damn old days dog." James tried to push Zarik away. "I'll take the blame for maybe using a bit of underhanded tactics in getting tourists to have sex with me, but never rape."

"What about her?" Zarik motioned to the unconscious woman on the ground.

"I found her like that alright. I was coming out here to set up my usual deal. I'm not a monster." He pointed to a box on the ground.

Angela raised herself up a little to see the contents and saw a lantern and a blanket and other things she knew and really didn't want to ever see again.

"In a dingo nest?" Zarik asked.

"Fuck you Zarik, you're not the only one those pups like. I spent a year getting familiar with this pack. It's part of my shtick. The woman think it's dangerous to come out here, but I give them some snacks every few days when I come out here to think and they like me. So I made it so that they won't attack me."

Zarik stepped back, letting the man sit up as he moved to check on the girl.

"I haven't been out in a few weeks because I was out of town and when I came back I saw the three carcasses past those bushes and came to see if the pack was dead. I saw her and dropped the box to check on her. I stood up to find my kit from the box and Gloria came from those bushes there. If any one of us is questionable, its her."

Angela looked down at Gloria.

"I didn't do a damn thing and you can't prove it." She clammed up, not looking at anyone.

"She's drugged, but okay." Zarik said as he knelt by the woman. "Bad cut on her cheek from hitting something."

James scooted towards his box and Zarik held up his gun. "Go fuck yourself. I'm getting my kit."

"Kit?"

"Medical kit." James reached in and pulled out a small box from the bigger box. He opened it up and held it out to Zarik. "I was gone because I can't do the finals of my medical training on the computers you set up here in town. I had to go to the city and finish the courses."

"You're...taking classes?" Zarik frowned as James moved towards the woman and Angela watched him pull a few things out and clean up her wound.

"Took. I wanted to be a paramedic because..." James looked away. "Fuck you Zarik, it's your damn fault anyway." He seemed embarrassed.

"Why James?" Zarik sighed as he stood up and moved towards Angela and Gloria.

"I wanted it because I wanted to work with you. You're always so damn popular and busy and being a Hunter and all and I just...I'm nobody."

Angela watched Zarik frown as he pulled his belt off from under his holster belt.

He took hold of Gloria and Angela moved away as he bound her wrists with his belt.

"You..." Zarik sighed.

"He's just a little whiner, a crybaby follower." Gloria said laughing.

"And what would you know? You've never supported me. You've just used my books to make drugs." James snapped at her.

Angela moved towards the woman on the ground as James finished bandaging her cheek.

Zarik sighed as he held on to Gloria.

He watched Angela check over the woman as well, but looking more for other signs than he'd been looking.

"Ang?" He asked her.

"She seems to be okay." Angela said.

"Like I said, I use false pretenses and the allure of danger, not drugs and rape." James said. "Maybe you should look into my sister before me."

Angela frowned as she looked at him.

She could see a little resemblance. About as much as Zarik had to Lyle.

"We should head back for town, that way she can get some proper care." James moved to pick the woman up.

"Yeah." Zarik sighed.

xXx

They met up with the local officers Howzer had rounded up and Zarik passed Gloria over.

She hadn't spoken, despite him asking about who had been working with her.

He watched the officers take her and the other woman off their hands and Zarik reached to put his arm around Angela's shoulders as he tucked the knife back in the holster with his gun.

Having his belt back was good.

"Well, it shouldn't take long to figure out who the other man is." James said.

"And you think you're helping?" Zarik raised a brow at him.

"Best way to prove my innocence." James glared back.

Angela held up a hand.

"Look, at least if he's helping us, we can keep an eye on him." She said.

"See, at least one of you is thinking clearly." James said.

"No, I'm just the most unbiased here right now." Angela corrected.

Zarik sighed again as he turned towards the house.

"Keep sighing and you'll sound like an old man." She teased him.

"You'd still love me." He leaned against her.

"Would I?" She sighed. "I guess I would."

"You guess? How cruel."

"So, can I help you guys?" James asked.

Zarik didn't even turn around. He just held up his hand and waved back. "Fine."

He walked with Angela back to his parents house and avoided the handful of people who had come to visit his parents as he led Angela back up to his room.

He really wasn't up for dealing with more people tonight.

It was half an hour before someone knocked on the door and he opened it.

His sister had brought them both food.

She stayed to talk with them and Zarik enjoyed seeing Angela getting along with his little sister.

His partner really seemed to fit in with his family.

Mira took the dishes back with her and Zarik headed for the bathroom and started the tub.

"Ang?" He called out.

"What?" Her voice was faint.

He frowned as he left the bathroom and saw the balcony door open.

But seeing her leaning on the railing, looking out over the oasis, was relaxing.

"Want to take a bath?" He asked as he leaned beside her.

"I guess we probably need one after trekking through the wild." She sighed. "I think I could like staying here."

He tugged her with him towards the bathroom, closing the balcony door on the way.

"Really? I was hoping so." He grinned.

"I mean, it's bigger, there's amenities we don't have out in the desert, and you want to stay here." She said as she headed for the bathroom ahead of him.

He really liked watching her move.

"I was wondering, since you're okay with staying with me..." Zarik reached for her hand and she turned to look up at him. "Angela, will you marry me?"


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

Angela rolled over in the sand. Her suit made a smooth sound when she did and the sun felt great even through the clear visor.

She closed her eyes and relaxed.

Even the sound of their target resisting arrest couldn't break her peace.

The man shouted and slurred his words, but he was lucky he was still alive.

As disfigured and aged as he was, it was no wonder he'd needed Gloria's help getting anything.

But Zarik was being surprisingly easy on him, all things considered.

Of course, there could still be an accident.

Angela smiled to herself, remembering how worked up Zarik had gotten when he'd finally found out who was responsible for hurting his baby sister.

He'd sworn in about three different languages and she hadn't been able to tell if she was more surprised he spoke four languages or that he knew how to cuss in all of them very proficiently.

Probably the former. He didn't cuss much, but that was something she knew about him before then.

Her peace was broken when she heard a gunshot.

It took her a second to gauge the sound in order to determine it was a non-lethal shot.

She opened her eyes when a shadow blocked her vision.

Zarik stood over her, looking about as tired as she did.

"He is alive yes?" She asked.

"For now." He shrugged.

He put his hand up to his face to block the sun and she saw the glint on his hand.

It made her smile to see the silver band on his finger, same as the gold one on hers.

He refused to take gold, but also completely surprised her by telling her why.

In their age, gold was rare, and the ring he'd given her had been passed down through his family for generations. His mother had worn it up until the moment they got married, and his grandmother had worn it until his parents got married.

It was tradition, but she couldn't complain because the simple ring was beautiful.

Whichever ancestor decided to make it a simple gold band with tiny diamonds embedded into it was thoughtful about functional designs.

Zarik held his other hand down to her and she reached up, not even trying to get off the sand.

He had to lean down a little more and pull her to her feet.

"Come on Ang, lets get this bastard back to the officers before I kill him here."

She shook her head as he stared walking towards the man he'd left on the ground.

There had been a good chase and fleeing attempt, but Zarik was too persistent in this case.

They loaded the guy into the truck Zarik had bought now that they were stationed out of Oasis and headed back for town.

Angela looked over at Zarik. He was annoyed. Not at her, but their target.

She reached over and took hold of his right hand.

He sighed as he looked at her and smiled.

xXx

Zarik held her hand the entire drive back.

After a year, he could finally close this case and make sure no one ever got hurt by him again.

They hadn't even had to wheedle a confession out of him. He had admitted to it quite easily, knowing he was being recorded even.

Angela shifted over on the bench seat of his truck and leaned into him.

This was what he needed now.

The woman he loved by his side, his newborn son back home with his family being spoiled and doted on by everyone. His sister was engaged to the same boy she'd been seeing for two years now. His brother was fully divorced from his ex and finally working on learning the family trade of craftsmanship.

Two years ago, if anyone had asked him what he'd been doing now, it definitely wouldn't have been this.

Angela would have come, but at the time, he hadn't seen this happening.

"Zarik?"

"Hmm?"

"You looked distant."

"Sorry, thinking about the past."

Angela smiled behind her visor as she reached up to take the helmet off.

"Well, long as you don't stay there." She said as she kissed his cheek.

"You'd never let me." He grinned before turning to kiss her properly.

"Damn straight." She settled in again, helmet beside her on the seat and the town just ahead of them.

He kept hold of her hand the entire way and would his whole life too.


End file.
